Method of and means for packing fruit



June 10, 1952 c STUART 2,599,790

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PACKING FRUIT Filed May 15 1950 INVEN CLIFTON F511: 1'

Patented June 10, 1952 METHODOF ANDIMEANS FOR.

PACKING FRUIT Clifton F. Stuart, Warren, Ohio, assignor. of onehalf to-Guy E. Lane, Youngstown, Ohio Application May 15, 1950, ,SerialNo.161,937

2 Claims.

My invention relates to methods of'andmeans for packingfruit, particularly fruithaving the shape of apples, oranges andthe like, and the principal object of my invention. isto provide new and improved methodsof', and means for packing fruit.

Packing has long been the bottleneck in the fruit industry since fruitmay bereadily picked and sorted in large quantities through use of present methods but cannotbe packed at an according rate. Further, topack fruit for attractive display and efficient shippinghas heretofore acquired the exercise of'considerable skill and the expenditure oficonsiderable time, and thus has materiallyincreased the. overall cost of the product.

In the usual circular type shipping container the top layer of .fruit is ringed, thatis, arranged in substantially concentric annular rows starting from the periphery defined by the inner outline of the upper portion of the shipping container and extending inwardly.

Heretofore, it has been necessary to arrange the, fruit by starting the. packingin anup-sidedown manner. For example, a rigid cylindrical member, openat both ends, is disposedin upright relation on a supporting board and the usual cylindrical paper liner is inserted within, and closely fits, the cylindrical member.

Then, a Worker disposes. a certain amount of fruit within the-cylindrical member through its upper open end and arranges it in ringed or other display manner on the supporting board which forms the bottom of the cylindrical member. The remainder of the fruit is then disposed within the cylindrical member, not necessarily in any predetermined manner, and the cylindrical member is then removed, leaving the paper liner" for supporting the fruit. At this point the fruit is not too thoroughly confined, and careless packing or careless workman may easily upset or disarrange the fruit thus far supported.

After the cylindrical member has been removed, the usual shipping. basket is disposed, bottom side up, over the paper liner and the assembly thus far is placed between what the trade calls flopper boards. Such construction comprises a pair of supports, one engaging the bottom of the basket and the otherengaging the supporting board which now-closes the mouth of the basket. The flopper boards are arranged with mechanism whereby the basket may be turned end-for-end to upright relation. After the shipping basket, has been righted, thesupporting board isremoved and the shipping cover My inventioneliminates the'necessity of. the above outlined procedure and apparatusand not only greatly-increases packing emciency but also materially reduces. costs.-

In the drawing. accompanying this specification and forming apart of thisapplication, there is shown, for purposes of illustration, various embodiments which my. invention may assume, andin this drawing:

Figure 1 is central sectional view through a container illustratingan embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 is atop plan view of the construction shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged transverse sectional: view taken through ashipping con.- tainer, showing the embodiment of my invention in use,

v Figure 4 isa fragmentary sectional view showing a nesting arrangement possible through use of the embodiment disclosed,

Figure 5 isa fragmentary sectional view of anothe embodiment of the invention, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

Referringparticularly to Figuresl through! of the drawings, the embodiment-of the invention therein disclosed-comprises a support IO- which is herein shown in the form of apan-like container or tray'havinga. bottom wall H and an annular rim l2. Preferably, the rimllhasits upper terminal margin rolled over upon itself to form a bead'l3. The bottom wall is preferably arched in an upward direction as shown, and is formed with means of any suitable character for strengthening purposes. In the embodiment disclosed, the bottom wall is formed with a plurality of concentric ribs I4 but it will be appreciated that ribs of any other formation, or meansof other characteristic may be used.

The support or tray container It may be formed of any suitable material and its crosssectional thickness will largely depend on-the material used. Preferably, the materialshould be of a flexible, deformable nature, yet should possess sufiicient rigidity, either inherently or through use of adequate strengthening ribs or other means, that it may be reasonably handled without undue deformation. As an example, but by no means inway of limitation, the support may be formed of aluminum sheet having .a wall thickness of .0035 inch..

In use, the usual packing and shipping receptacle I5 and top l6may be used. A worker may arrange fruit F on the support In in ringlike manner, or in anyother desired display manner. This operation may be easily performed sincethe support is right'side up and no stoop:- ing or bendingis requiredto insert the fruit. As a result, thearrangement of fruit may be carried "out on benches or assembly linebelts:

The support I!) containing the fruit may then be disposed within the upper end of the basket l5, and if necessary, the support Ill-and the fruit F carried thereby may be forced downwardly against the upper layer of fruit F1 to accommodate the top [6, or the. top may force the fruit F and support It? inwardly of the' basket [550 that the fruit F automatically assumes the contour of the top. Since the support IO'is preferably made of deformable material, any inward thrust of the fruit F will' not cause injuryto such fruit. Rather, the support I0 will yield, as shown at H in Figure 3, so that any unevenness in the upper layer of the; fruit Fl will not materially aifect proper packing'of the basket 15. V

The top I6 may be secured to the basket 15 in usual manner so that the fruit may be shipped in accordance with desired instructions. When the fruit reaches its destination, the cover l6 may be removed for display purposes. In some instances, cautious buyers have-removed at least a portion of the display layer of fruit in order to inspect the size and quality of fruit at a lower level in the basket. Heretofore, this has usually resulted in a completev disarrangement of the such inspection has been completed, the support l0 and its display-slayer of fruit may be easily replaced; g

The annular wall i2 of the support I0 is preferably downwardly inclined so that a plurality of supports may he compactly nested, as shown in Figure 4, to facilitate shipment of a large quantity of supports to a fruit packer.

In the embodiment disclosed in Figures 5 and 6, the support we is substantially similar to the support hereinbefore described. In this embodiment, however,' the bottom wall lld is formed with concentrically arranged annular rows of pockets or depressions 18, each adapted toreceive one piece of fruit. Thepockets 18 thus provide a guide to the worker who is arranging the display layer of fruit F. In use of this embodiment, it is possible to make the pockets deep enough, or the bottom wall may be apertured, so that the fruit is self supporting; thus eliminating the need for the annular wall I2. g

It will be appreciatedthat the ribs M, or other strengthening means, may be arranged in attractive design, or arranged to display advertising or other legend. If desired, the bottom wall I l, I la may be apertured for ventilation purposes. In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I .have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments ,herein described may be --various1y changedandimodified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim: 7

1. The method of packing fruit comprising indiscriminately filling a receptacle short of capacity with fruit, placing a layer of said fruit in display arrangement within a tray container formed of sheet aluminum having sufiicient strength to permit handling while retaining its shape, said tray container being deformable under relatively light pressure and having, the tendency to retainv such deformity, placing said tray container with the display layer of fruit therein within the top of said receptacle, and pressing said trayvcontainer inwardly of said receptacle so that any unevenness of the top layer of: in-

discriminately filled subjacent fruit in said receptacle will result in indenting said tray container to accommodate and compensate for such unevenness, the inherent strength of said aluminum tray material when filled with fruit permitting its removal and replacement relative to said receptacle for visual inspection of the subjacent fruit in the receptacle;

2. 'An'aluminum tray for 'ornamentally displaying fruit in the top of a receptacle which is filled with fruit short of its capacity, said tray being formed of light weight deformable sheet aluminum having a thickness not less than .0035 gauge in which the fruit is, placed and vmaintained in display manner, said tray having sufficient strength to permit its handling without fracture when filled with fruit arranged in a displaypattern therein for insertion into the open end of said partially filled receptacle over the uppermost indiscriminately filled fruit therein, the deformable sheet material of said tray being yieldable within the upper portion of said receptacle to conform the lower tray portion to the configuration of the upper surface portions of the fruit in said receptacle under. applied pressure without bruising the fruit in. the receptacle, said tray therebybeing brought into general alignment with the upper defining margin of said receptacle With the uppermost fruit in the receptacle indenting and deforming the tray lower portion, the sheet aluminum structure of the tray having the characteristic of retaining deformity resulting from such indentation by fruit therebeneath to relieve the fruit of applied pressure strains, said tray material having inherent strength so as to be capable of removal while filled with fruit to permit inspection of fruit thereunder without displacement of the displayed fruit in said tray.

. CLIFTON. F. STUART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are .of. record in the file of; this patent: g

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